Flanging machine



Sept. 25, 1962 R. BQLDRINI FLANGING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 50, 1959 LI llll IIJ* .llliIT n nllliill Sept. 25, 1962 R. BoLDRINl FLANGING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 50. 1959 sept. z5, 1962 Filed July 50, 1959 R. BOLDRINI FLANGING MACHINE United States Patent G" 3,055,414 FLANGING MACHINE Rino Boldrini, Via Gaetano Crespi 28, Milan, Italy Filed July 30, 1959, Ser. No. 830,647 Claims. (Cl. 153-54) This invention relates in general to metal forming machines and in particular to a new and useful flanging machine.

lt is known that flanging machines for the preparation of at or convex bottoms for boilers and the like act with a rotary, idling or driving, pressing roll upon the metal sheet to make its border adhere against another shaping roll profiled in such a manner that the metal sheet becomes shaped according to the prole of said roll. These machines substantially operate by rolling like the old plate lathe.

Flanging machines for metal sheets of medium and great thicknesses have meen made somewhat automatic but there remains the inconvenience with them that one has to adjust by hand the forwarding and the orientation of the pressing roll to ensure at every time the necessary adherence of the metal sheet upon the shaping roll.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a flanging machine wherein the forwar-ding and the orientation of the pressing roll are obtained with means adapted to displace said roll in two directions though rotating about its own axis.

The means for displacing the pressing roll are preferably constituted by hydraulic jacks acting in directions at angles with respect to each other, and controlled by special distributors whereby the pressing roll may be pivoted about the axis of its stem, displaced axially, and the stem pivot may be displaced.

For the sake of greater clearness reference is made to the embodiment illustrated, merely by way of example, in the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. l represents a vertical Section of the machine diagrammatically;

FIG. 2 represents a section along line 2 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 represents a section taken along line 3 3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 represents a section taken along line 4 4 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 represents the functional diagram of the jacks.

The machine illustrated is constituted essentially by a framing 1 in C-shape provided with means 2 3 known per se, displaceable and adjustable, preferably constituted by pneumatic jacks, for clamping the bottom 4 to be flanged at its central zone. The bottom 4 is held by the clamping means 2 3 in such a way that it may be rotated around its axis X X by a shaping roll 5. The generating profile of the shaping roll 5 reproduces the profile to be assumed by the border of the bottom on termination of the operation. The roll 5 is fitted onto the end of the shaft of a motor 5 which keeps it in rotation around its axis. An idling pressing roll 6 freely rotatable on the head of a stem 7 connected to the piston 8 of the hydraulic cylinder 9. The cylinder 9 in turn is oscillatable around the horizontal axis y y of the two pins 141- 10 (FIG. 3). The pins 10 10 are slidable within the vertical guides 11 11 fixed to the framing. A second hydraulic jack, constituted by the cylinder 12 and the stem 13, has its stem pivoted at 14 Withthe support 15 aiixed to the stem 7. The support 15 is slidable with "ice the two lateral slides 16 16 on the inner faces of the flanks 17-17 (side walls) of the framing.

By means of the two pivots 18 18 the cylinder 12 is oscillatable yaround the fixed axis Z-Z. The cylinder 9 is displaceable along the vertical guides 11 11 by the action of la hydraulic jack whose cylinder 19 is pivotally connected at its head to the pins or trunnions 10 10 of cylinder 9 while the piston 20 lis lixed by means of its stem 21 to the framing, by means of the pin 22.

In order to ensure at any time the dragging in rotation of the sheet 4 by the shaping roll 5 which is motorized, there `are provided two pressing rolls 23-23 (FIG. 4) loose Von their pins and pushed against the sheet by a jack 24 25 preferably by pneumatic action, to ensure, thanks to the elasticity of the air, the perfect and continuous adherence of the rolls 23 23 to the bottom 4 in rotation.

The pressing roll 6, in addition to its rotary movement, can be displaced by the cylinder 12 along an arc u b, its radius originating at the axis y-y consequently, the roll 6 4can be swung upwards or downwards. The cylinder 19, which is integral with the forked member bearing the trunnions 10 10', can be 4caused to move either upwards or downwards, `by admitting fluid either in the upper or the lower chambers of the cylinder.

The combination of the three movements, imparted by the cylinders 12 9 19 to the stern 7 and, therefore, to the roll 6, is easily obtained yby the adjustment of the mere hydraulic distributors such as 26-27-28 which control the said cylinders and it permits the roll 6 to follow easily any prole or radius yof the shaping roll 5.

I claim:

l. A flanging machine for preparing curved bottoms for tanks, boilers and similar containers from a metal sheet, comprising means for rotatably supporting said sheet, a shaping roll arranged to contact a portion of said sheet for forming it at such location, means to rotate said shaping roll while it is in contact with said sheet, a rotatable pressing roll member `disposed on the opposite side of said sheet from said shaping roll, a stem to pivotally support said pressing roll member axially with re- `speci: to said stem, means for shifting said pressing roll member axially, means for rotating `said pressing roll member -about its pivotal support, and means for changing the elevation of each end of said stem independently.

2. A machine for flanging the edges of fcircular plates comprising means for holding such plate pivotally for rotation about its center, a shaping roll mounted to rotate within the periphery of said plate and -to impart rotation thereto, sai-d roll being profiled to the nished conformation of the edge of said plate, a pair of rolls spaced apart to hold said plate against said shaping roll, a pressing roll having a convex prole in apposition to the rst said roll and on the other side of said plate, a non-rotatable stem to support said pressing roll rotatably coaxially of the stem, means to force said stem* axially, land means to move each end of said stem in a direction transverse to its axis and independently of each other whereby said pressing roll may be moved progressively along the edge surface to present new contact area thereto.

3. A machine as -set forth in claim 2 in which said stem forcing means is a cylinder movable axially and a hydraulically controlled piston within said cylinder fixed on said stem.

5. A machine as set forth in claim 4 in which is pro- 5 vided a bearing for said pressing roll to receive the thrust of one of said pair of cylinders and pistons.

References Cited in the 111e of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Shepard Mar. 31, 1885 Vanderslice Aug. 26, 1902 4 Gabriel Sept. 8, Gabriel Dec. 7, Vandersli'ce Nov. 9, Ingels Feb. 25, Johnson Jan. 12, Olson Dec. 13, Stenson et a1 Apr. 29, 

